Pie throwing game



Jan. 6, 1970 H. S'TAN ETAL 3,488,050

PIE THROWING GAME Filed Feb. 5, 3.968

I NV E NTO R 5 HE/VPV STA/V LEO/W0 KQ/PAK MAP/4W 6AA 55 ME; ar Q +3: a 24 @Z JL a... V mo Nev United States Patent 3,488,050 PIE THROWING GAME Henry Stan, Chicago, Leonid Kripak, Villa Park, and Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Marvin & Associates, Chicago, 11]., a partnership Filed Feb. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 702,952 Int. Cl. A63j 23/00 US. Cl. 272-27 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Game apparatus comprising a base supporting a vertical wall and a chin rest for a player. The wall has an opening facing the chin rest and an arm is pivotally supported on the base on the side of the wall opposite the chin rest. The arm is adapted to support a simulated pie, and means is provided for swinging the arm upwardly to throw the pie through the opening in the vertical wall. The means for propelling the arm includes a random device which is triggered by manipulation by the player.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the type of mechanical game apparatus which provides for random movement of a portion of the apparatus to either reward or penalize a player. In the present instance, the action results from the players o'wn manipulation of the apparatus and acts directly on the players person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the device partly broken away;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view, partly in section, of certain parts indicated in FIGURE 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The device as illustrated consists of a box-like base to which is removably fixed an upstanding wall portion 12 providing a relatively large opening 14. A chin-rest or pad 16 is carried on an upright 18 preferably fixed to the base so that a players face, when his chin is resting on pad 16, will substantially register with opening 14. Beneath opening 14, on the other side of wall 12 from pad 16, a swinging arm 20 is freely pivoted by means of trunnions 22 engaged in flanges or bearings 24, as best shown in FIGURE 4, turned down from the upper wall of base 10 at the margins of an opening 26 beneath a portion of arm 20. Arm 20 has a pan portion 28 in which is seated a simulated pic 30 made of any suitable soft spongy material which will not cause injury if projected into the face of a player and which may if desired be saturated with water, whipped cream, or other substance to add to the embarrassment of the victim and hilarity of the other players if this happens. Pie 30 is freely seated in pan 28 so as to be projected beyond the pan following upward swinging of arm 20,

The arm 20 is swung upwardly about trunnions 22 by means of an oscillating propeller member 32, best shown in FIGURE 5, which is pivoted on a pin 34 adjacent to trunnions 22 and supported from the outer walls of base 10. Member 32 is urged in a counterclockwise direction (FIGURE 2) by means of a spring 36, which is connected to a pin 38 on member 32 and anchored to a pin, hook or the like 40 fixed to base 10. When permitted, member 32 swings forcibly into contact with arm 20 at an abutment surface 42 and swings the arm upwardly, as indicated in broken lines in FIGURE 2'.

Propeller member 32 is controlled by a cam-wheel 44 rotatively supported in base 10 by means of an axle or pin 46. Wheel 44, inwardly of its periphery, has a rim composed of segments 48, 49, and 51 projecting inwardly from the face of wheel 44. As many segments as desired may be provided, in the present instance four being shown, and which are spaced apart by slots 52, 53, 54 and 55. Segments 48, 50 etc. form a series of detents or notches 56, while propeller member 32 has a cam-rib 58 which, when member 32 and wheel 44 are juxtaposed, will lie within the confines of segments 48, 50 etc. Cam rib 58 has a rounded end portion 60 which rides in contact with notches 56 when wheel 44 is turned and will produce an audible clicking sound as it moves from one notch to the next. However, when portion 60 encounters one of the slots 52, 54, etc., rib 58 is free and so shaped as to slide out through the slot to cause propeller 32 to strike arm 20 and throw it upwardly under the biasing action of spring 36. The motion of propeller 32 is limited by a stop portion 64 on rib 58 which engages the interior of the adjacent segment.

In the illustrated embodiment cam-rib 58 is formed so that, once propeller 32 has swung upwardly, subsequent rotation of wheel 44 will act against rib 58 with a camming action and force propeller 32 downwardly toward a reset position. Such camming action continuing until portion 60 escapes from the slot with which rib 58 is engaged and engages one of notches 56. When pie 30 is then replaced in pan 28 the device is ready to operate again.

Wheel 44 has an outer toothed periphery 66 constituting a gear which is driven by a pinion gear 68 fixed in relation to a shaft 70 journalled in base 10 and having knobs or grips 72 and 74 by which it may be conveniently turned by a player. As seen in FIGURE 5, each knob is preferably hollow and has a blade portion 76 which engages a notch 78 formed in the end of shaft 70. Knobs 72 and 74 may be readily slipped off of shaft 70 to reduce the width of the device for storage, Further, it is to be noted that wall 12 is bifurcated below opening 14, the margins of the resulting downwardly extending portions being engaged in slots 78 in outwardly projecting flanges 80 forming part of base 10. Upright 18 is seated in a socket 82 formed as part of base 10, and can readily be slipped out for storage. With wall 12 removed from slots 78, knobs 72 and 74 removed, and upright 18 removed, the device is substantially reduced in compass so as to be put in a box or the like which will occupy a minimum amount of space.

In summary, the operation of the device is as follows. Pie 30 having been loaded into pan 28, a player rests his chin on pad 16 and turns knobs 72 or 74, or both, listening for the clicks as rib portion 60 rides over the bumps between notches 56. If he guesses correctly he will stop before any of the slots 52 etc. register with rib 58, and may be given credit for the number of notches passed. If he guesses wrong he either loses points for the notches not traversed, or he takes the pie in the face if his error is in the other direction. He therefore has a chance to display his courage while amassing points in his score. On the other hand pressing his luck too far so that the pie is released may cancel all the points which the player has acquired, or those acquired as a result of the last turn, as determined by the particular rules which may be adopted. A variation of the game might require the player to pass a predetermined number of clicks in accordance with the indications of a chance device of any suitable type not shown.

It is to be noted that the number of notches in each segment is preferably different from that in any of the others, so that it is extremely difiicult to guess the number of clicks that will take place after the pie is released before it will be released again.

While the game has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, it is contemplated that variations and modifications will occur to those familiar with this art without departing from the principles of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Game apparatus comprising a base structure, an arms pivotally supported on said base, means on said arm contoured to support an object, and means for swinging said arm upwardly, said means including a spring biasing a pivotally mounted element adapted to engage and move said arm upwardly, and a randomly operable latch means independent of said arm adapted to hold said element in its biased position and to release said element to strike said arm and move the latter upwardly so as to propel said object therefrom.

2. Game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch means comprises a manually rotatable wheel having a circularly arranged plurality of series of contiguous notches thereon facing toward the axis of the wheel, each of said series being spaced from the adjacent ones by an opening extending radially outwardly of the wheel, said pivotally mounted element having a follower portion adapted to engage said notches and to pass through said openings therebetween, whereby said element is held in its spring biased position as long as said follower portion is engaged by one of said notches and said element is released to move upwardly and strike said arm Whenever one of said openings is positioned in the path of said follower.

3. Game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including a vertically extending Wall portion mounted on said base normal to the path of movement of said arm and including an opening through an upper portion thereof, and wherein said object comprises a relatively movable part supported adjacent the free end of said arm in position to be propelled toward said opening when said arm is released to move upwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,166,053 12/1915 Kellogg. 1,408,037 2/ 1922' Schreyer et al. 27227 2,227,343 12/1940 Haislip. 3,358,998 12/1967 Goldfarb 12433 X ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner ARNOLD W. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner 

